Getting there
By air, then road. The nearest airport is Los Mochis (LMM), the Federal del Valle del Fuerte, the main gateway to this corner of Sinaloa with domestic connections through Mexico City, Guadalajara, Tijuana and others. From the airport it is roughly an hour and a half by road to El Fuerte. The easiest route is a private transfer or a taxi arranged through your hotel, which sidesteps having to change buses in Los Mochis with luggage.
By bus and van. From the Los Mochis bus terminal, regional lines and vans run to El Fuerte through the day, an approximate 1.5 to 2 hours depending on stops, for roughly 120 to 220 MXN (approximate). Long-haul buses into Los Mochis from elsewhere in the northwest are handled by lines like Tufesa, TAP and Elite. Once in Los Mochis you switch to the smaller regional service or a van for the last leg. Check current schedules at the terminal rather than assuming fixed departures.
By train. The headline reason people come. El Fuerte is the western boarding point for El Chepe, the Chihuahua al Pacífico line into the Copper Canyon, and boarding here instead of Los Mochis skips the flat, dull first stretch. Chepe Express, the tourist first-class service, and the Chepe Regional both stop here, climbing east through Bahuichivo, Divisadero and Creel. The station sits a short drive outside the town center. Book ahead in the busy winter and spring months and confirm your departure time the day before. See day trips.
By car. El Fuerte is roughly 80 km inland from Los Mochis on paved regional highway, an easy daytime drive. This is northern Sinaloa, so keep overland travel to daylight and ask locally about current road conditions before setting out. More in is it safe.
Getting around
Once you are in El Fuerte you do not need a car. The historic center is compact and flat enough to cross on foot in minutes, and the Plaza de Armas, the parish church, the mirador fort and the courtyard hotels all cluster together. Walk it.
For the river boat launches, the reservoir, Cerro de la Máscara and the train station, all just outside the walkable core, grab a short local taxi or arrange a lift through your hotel, which most will do. There are no app-based rideshares to rely on here, so line things up at the front desk. If your train leaves at dawn, book the station transfer the night before rather than hoping a taxi materializes.
An honest note
The drive up from Los Mochis is smooth and short, no motion-sickness switchbacks, that comes later on the train as it climbs into the canyon. The one real rule is timing: do your overland legs by day, and check regional conditions before any night highway driving.